Communications

Portraits of sworn officers, most recent available of each. This should include but not be limited to those of portraits of managerial staff published to the ["Chief of Police & Command Staff" page][1] on the department's website, in their original electronic form (i.e., JPEG files, not printed then scanned, not reduced resolution, etc.), all notes regarding the images provided by the photographer(s), index of images, and all associated metadata.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

This letter is in response to your public disclosure request dated June 12, 2013 for portraits of sworn SPD employees.

Pursuant to RCW 42.56.520, this is notification that we have received your public disclosure request. We anticipate a response to you on or about July 31, 2013.

This additional time is used to research this request, collect responsive records, and/or prepare records for dissemination. Please note: Seattle Police Department currently receives approximately 5,000 public disclosure requests annually.

If you have any questions or need further assistance with this request, please contact the Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.

This email is in response to your request for “portraits of sworn officers, most recent available.” Photos of SPD’s officers are in their personnel files and these photos are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the following exemption: Law Enforcement Employees’ Photos and Month & Year of Birth: Records containphotographs and month and year of birth in the personnel files of employees and workers of criminal justice agencies. (RCW42.56.250(8)). Explanation: Release could lead to the harassment of criminal justice agency employees and/or their endangerment. Note: This information may be released to the news media. For the purposes of this exemption, news media does not include any person or organization of persons in the custody of a criminal justice agency.

You may file a written appeal of this response with the Chief of Police within ten (10) business days from the date of this letter. Please include your name and address and a copy of this letter together with a brief statement identifying the basis of the appeal. Please mail or deliver your appeal to:

Chief of Police

Seattle Police Department

PO Box 34986

Seattle, WA 98124-4986

This concludes the Department’s response to your public disclosure request.

If you have any questions, you can contact our Public Disclosure Desk at 206-684-5481.

I appeal. Given that these public records are, as you noted, approved for release to news media, communicating them to me (via MuckRock News, no less), should present no risk to your staff. The fact that you have denied my request in full, without providing even those records which *have* been released to other members of the news media clearly indicates that at least some portion of these records are being withheld without legal justification.